Many conventional computer mouse designs involve a leaf switch, or a switch biased in the manner of a leaf spring, whereby once a user presses a mouse button the leaf switch will “click” and urge the button to return to its original (raised) position once the user removes his or her finger(s) from the button. More particularly, a leaf switch normally involves thin pieces of metal that present a resistance to being pushed out of an initial rest position (i.e., to being pushed downwardly) but, once pushed down, actually make contact with another metal component to complete a circuit.
The action just described applies readily to the actuation of essentially any button that might be on the mouse (e.g., a “left-click” button, a “right-click” button, or other buttons). As is well known, a clicking noise is created in view of the resonant properties of the mouse cavity, which normally encompasses at least one major hollow space within the mouse body. More particularly, actuation of the switch already creates a significant clicking noise, while resonant qualities of the interior mouse cavity serve to amplify this effect. This phenomenon, quite ironically, has presented even more of a problem with the advent of “optical” mice, which involve tracking typically via a laser light disposed in and emanating from the bottom of the mouse, as compared to “mechanical” or “trackball” mice, which involve tracking typically via a rotatable trackball disposed at the bottom of the mouse. The reason for the worsening of the problem is simply that an optical mouse typically presents a greater proportion of open volume within the mouse body than does a mechanical mouse, since an optical mouse has fewer (and normally less bulky) mechanical parts.
In addressing this noise problem, alternative switches or buttons have been developed, such as a rubber dome switch. The tradeoff is that these alternative switch designs, like the rubber dome switch, do not retain the tactile feel of the leaf-style switch. This also creates an unenviable problem in that the user is provided with no auditory feedback either, indicating to him/her that the switch indeed has been actuated. There is also a pattern of user errors being caused by the rubber dome switch, since the user must keep a constant force on the switch in order to perform tasks (e.g., drag and drop) and since the user would not know that the button had not remained depressed unless they saw the result of the error on the screen.
In view of the foregoing, a compelling need has been recognized in connection with providing arrangements in computer mice that significantly attenuate the characteristic mouse clicking noise, without compromising the user's ability to receive feedback or reassurance that a task related to mouse clicking has indeed been executed.